New Music : December 01 - 08

Allison Iraheta "Just Like You."
The success of Chris Daughtry proved that finishing fourth doesn't always auger the worst for an "American Idol," and there are certainly entertaining moments for her debut full-length. I Good guitar riffs on "Robot Love" with a sample of Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part Two." "Beat Me Up" seems good, but with questionable lyrics. Iraheta puts it over with energetic glee, however. Album also includes two cuts by Swedish hit machine Max Martin, including lead single "Friday I'll Be Over U," while Pink and Kara DioGuardi contribute the power ballad "No One Else."

The Bravery "Stir the Blood"
The Bravery's third official go at it way with more catchy songs - front man Sam Endicott and producer John Hill wrote two numbers on Shakira's "She Wolf," including the title track. Predictable, perhaps because of how its new wave/post punk pastiches often evoke the atmosphere and sound of earlier artists, from U2 to the Cure, yet never quite reach their aesthetic heights. The first single, "Spectator," with its affected vocals and woozy synth hook, sounds like something Franz Ferdinand would do. The album lacks much originality with sounds that have been done a decade or two ago, but it's not like many current artists are reinventing the wheel, either.

R. Kelly " Untitled"
Kelly hasn't had an easy time of it the past few years, between album leaks and legal hassles. His ninth album, which he told the media that fans should call the record whatever they please, includes some yodeling. Longtime supporters will probably be excited with the traditional sexed-up fare like "Echo" and "Number One." The latter, a collaboration with Keri Hilson, recently put Kelly back in the R&B top 10, for the 35th time since he started appearing on the charts back in 1991. The album has 15 cuts that also include the swaggering "Supaman High," and "Pregnant," a collaboration with Tyrese, Robin Thicke, and The-Dream.

Juvenile "Cocky & Confident."
After his 2006 predecessor, "Reality Check," entered the charts at No. 1 and ten years after his breakout hit, "Back That Azz Up," the New Orleans gangsta rapper returns with his ninth studio full-length. He's already spun three singles off the 18-song selection, including the rugged "Gotta Get It," "We Be Getting Money," and his collaboration with R&B crooner Pleasure P, "Hands on You." Other guests on his first album following the 2008 slaying of his 4-year-old daughter include Bobby Valentino, Rico Love, B.G., and Kango Slim.

Enya "The Very Best of Enya"
Since 1988's "Orinoco Flow", Enya has gone on to become one of the world's most popular artists, selling more than 70 million albums worldwide during her 22-year solo career. "The Very Best of Enya" compiles 19 of the Irish new age icon's best-loved offerings (10 of them newly remastered), including "Book of Days" and "Only Time." The program also features a previously unreleased version of "Aníron (I Desire)," from "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," and (just in time for Christmas) her interpretation of "Silent Night," "Oíche Chiuín (Chorale)."

Other New Releases Worth Checking Out:
(Have not listened to, but please feel free to post a review)

* Blakroc (The Black Keys): "Blakroc"
* Il Divo: "An Evening With Il Divo: Live in Barcelona"
* Soundtrack : "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel"
* Westlife: "Where We Are"
* Cunninlynguists: "Southernunderground"
* Soundtrack : "Up in the Air"